REPLY Policy paradox and SD (SD6690)

[SDMAIL Bill Harris]

Posted by  Bill Harris <bill_harris at facilitatedsystems.com>

"SDMAIL nickols at att.net" <nickols at att.net> writes:
>Just out of curiosity, where, how and when does an SD practitioner acquire 
> the knowledge, skills, insight, wisdom and competencies associated with 
> effective implementation or change management?

Hi Fred,

Some, perhaps many, of us have feet in both (many) camps, in the spirit
of needing more than one tool in the typical toolbox.

I fell into change management shortly after getting started in SD.  I
was a manager and then an internal consultant who needed more tools to
achieve the goals I had set for myself (and which had been set for me)
in my organizational setting.  Those tools I picked up (action research,
action science, OD, ...) gradually led me in the direction you're
describing.  In my case, necessity and curiousity, mixed well, were the
parents of learning.

As to how, I did take a course in AR, I took various short courses in
change management and consulting skills, I read a /lot/, and I did a lot
of action research and action learning surrounding action science,
change management, and personal mastery, to use a Fifth Discipline term.
As you know, no matter where one is, there's still a long ways to go.

Of the whole lot, I think action science may have been the hardest to
internalize -- it certainly felt that way at the time.  Then again, I
had five years in a university and multiple years designing circuits and
systems to cultivate my feeling for feedback systems.

Bill
- -- 
Bill Harris
Posted by  Bill Harris <bill_harris at facilitatedsystems.com>
posting date  Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:32:11 -0800